NSIC roundup

Each week, The Minot Daily News features a roundup of notable performances, news and results from teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Here’s what happened last week:

– Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State won in the first round of the Division II football playoffs Saturday, giving the NSIC three teams in the final 16. St. Cloud State beat No. 4 Henderson State 40-35 and travels to No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato on Saturday. The Mavericks received a first-round bye.

Fifth-ranked Duluth crushed Emporia State 55-13 and plays at No. 2 Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. Redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Bauer rushed for career highs of 173 yards and four touchdowns, and junior running back Austin Sikorski added 122 yards on the ground.

– University of Mary senior Jennifer Agnew won the Division II national cross country championship by more than 11 seconds, finishing the 6k course in 20 minutes, 50.7 seconds. It marked the Marauders’ first NCAA cross country title.

The Augustana men placed third, the highest finish in program history. Senior Paul Yak clocked a sixth-place time of 30:20.2 in the 10k race to lead a trio of Viking All-Americans. Tom Karbo and Harald Karbo finished 11th and 19th, respectively.

Sioux Falls runners Robert Brockmueller (37th) and William Brockmueller (39th) led the Cougars to an 18th-place showing as a team.

– Southwest Minnesota State forward Miranda Cadena was named the Central Region women’s soccer player of the year on Monday. The sophomore led the Mustangs to their first NCAA tournament, where they fell in the region championship to Minnesota Duluth.

Cadena finished the season with 13 goals and six assists in 22 matches. Seven of her goals were game-winners.

– St. Cloud State sophomore Jordan Poydras was named the NSIC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after dropping a career-high 32 points to lead the Huskies to an 87-84 win over Wisconsin-Parkside. The 6-foot-3 guard added five rebounds, three assists and a steal, and made three free throws in the final 45 seconds to seal the win.

– Minnesota Duluth senior Hannah Rutten was named the women’s basketball player of the week after averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in a pair of victories. The 6-2 post tallied 24 points and 16 boards in an 84-80 win against No. 22 Michigan Tech.

Duluth received the top seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament from Dec. 5 to 7 and will serve as host. The Bulldogs will be joined by third-seeded Concordia-St. Paul, fifth-seeded Southwest Minnesota State and sixth-seeded Northern State.